The present invention relates to a building system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reconstituted wood block modular building system.
At present many families are unable to purchase decent affordable housing as a result of high costs, mortgage requirements, and allied expenses. Rents have accelerated to a point where the larger part of meager incomes is consumed for shelter. Consequently, it is most apparent that a definite need exists for a building product that would contain and embrace many of the features now found in conventional wood frames homes, i.e. "stick built," and provide secure and adequate shelter at an affordable price.
There has been many attempts in the past to alleviate the housing situation through the development and refinement of wood frame homes, masonry homes, concrete block homes, log homes, mobile homes, etc., but all have had certain drawbacks. The problems usually were associated with the cost involved, livability, durability, and/or the difficulty encountered with erection.
The construction of homes has changed very little in the last hundred years. New products have been produced, lumber and labor are still the main ingredient. With the virgin wood forest rapidly dwindling away, however, lumber has become very costly. Skilled labor is very expensive
Numerous innovations for composite wood structures have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention in that they do not teach a reconstituted wood block modular building system.
FOR EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,019 to Babina et al. teaches a compression-molding composition containing 95 to 98 parts by weight of a product resulting from the treatment of crushed wood with an aqueous solution of phenol and formaldehyde at the boiling temperature of the solution in the presence of hydrochloric acid at a weight ratio between phenol formaldehyde, water, hydrochloric acid and crushed wood equal to 0.15-0.40:0.048-0.27:10-15:0.07-24-0.1086:1, respectively, 1 to 3 parts by weight of a curing agent, viz, hexamethylenetetramine, 0.5 to 1 part by weight of a curing accelerator such as calcium oxide or magnesium oxide, and 0.5 to 1.0 part by weight of a lubricant such as stearing, oleic acid or stearates. The compression-molding composition has an increased water-resistance (its water-absorption is at most 42-82 mg), a high curing rate (0.57-0.8 min/mm), elevated Martens yield temperature (up to 146 degrees C.) thus making it possible to widen the field of application of the compression-molding composition. A method for preparing the compression-molding composition comprises agitation of the components simultaneously with disintegration thereof at a temperature of 97-99 degrees C. to the content of volatile compounds of from 6 to 10% by weight. The method is simple in implementation, it has a reduced number of technological steps and lowered power- and labor-consumption in the manufacture of a compression-molding composition.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,652 to Hsu et al. teach a method of producing a wood composite treated with a soluble boron compound. Either a phenol-formaldehyde resole or novolac type resin can be used as the binder for a wood furnish. The wood furnish is surface treated with either the resole type resin or novolac resin together with a water soluble boron compound whereafter the surface treated wood furnish is formed into a mat and then consolidated in a press. When novolac is used as the resin, the consolidation takes place under sufficient pressure, heat and time in order to cure the novolac type resin and to form the wood composite. Optionally, the curing of the novolac resin can be promoted by injecting the compressed mat with steam, rather than by means of heated press platens. If a resole type resin is employed as the binder while in its consolidated condition, however, pressurized steam is injected into the consolidated mat for a time sufficient to cure the binder and form the composite. The wood composite so produced and which contains the soluble boron compound, exhibits acceptable internal bond strength, and as a result of the inclusion of the boron compound, renders the composite less susceptible to biological attack and more fire retardant than conventional composites employing phenol-formaldehyde alone as the thermosetting adhesive.
STILL ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,714 to Potvin teaches a wall for a rampart or building, consisting of a plurality of building blocks, each comprising slightly compacted sawdust or wood chips glued with resin. The building blocks are interconnected by a number of assembling pins and by recesses integral to the respective blocks, so as to frictionally engage into one another. There are also provided full length projections and corresponding grooves of the respective blocks for the same purposes. The thus erected structure is remarkable by the quality of the joints and by the ease and quickness of its assembly or disassembly.
FINALLY, YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,749 to Klasell et al. teach a composite wood structure including first and second spaced layers, and a core interposed between the layers. A sheet-like vapor barrier is between the layers and limits migration of moisture through the barrier to less than about 6 grams per square meter of barrier area per hour. The wood structure is thereby made warp-resistant. In another embodiment, the structure has a vapor barrier on an outer surface and may have one or more additional vapor barriers between structure layers. Preferred vapor barrier materials include melamine formaldehyde impregnated paper, phenol formaldehyde impregnated paper, thermoset materials, thermoplastic materials and aluminum foil.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for composite wood structures have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.